FRS reports progress in attracting badly needed farm workers from overseas

By Stephen Cadogan

Progress in attracting overseas farm workers has been reported by FRS (Farm Relief Services).

They recently brought some of their operatives from New Zealand, Lithuania and Canada to the FRS offices in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, to share their experiences, and receive a “thank you” from FRS.

Peter Byrne, CEO of FRS said; “It was very positive for us to hear the great feedback from the young people. They took a leap of faith to come and work with us and we put everything in place to ensure they were well looked after.”

There was a 20% increase in demand for FRS services during the tough spring for farmers and farm workers, in terms of workload and harsh weather.

Along with sourcing and upskilling workers in Ireland, FRS needed to look further afield, and say they have now paved the way to a great source of workers from countries outside of Ireland.

“We have now laid solid foundations to develop going forward, and plan to bring in more workers from New Zealand, EU countries and hopefully from non-EU countries, now that work permits have been announced by the government for countries outside of the EEA,” said Peter Byrne.

Sourcing workers from abroad means extra planning, logistics and management.

FRS, the leading provider of farm workers in Ireland, has teamed up with their counterparts “down under”, New Zealand Dairy Careers, in the Live, Learn and Earn Exchange Programme. This exchange will see applicants learn on the world’s best farms and further develop their farming skills. They will work both milk peak seasons — January to June in Ireland, and July to December in New Zealand — helping to offset the shortage of labour which both countries’ dairy farmers face currently. Applications are now open for Irish people who want to do the exchange in New Zealand.

In 2017, FRS also set up the Dairy Operator Skills Programme in conjunction with Teagasc, the DEASP and South East Regional Skills. Peter Byrne said; “Our first priority is to service our farmers well, and we always try to source workers at home before going abroad.

“The Dairy Operative Skills Programme has proven to be successfully training people and adding to our pool of workers, but the demand remains higher than the supply, and therefore I am happy to report that we have made the required contacts outside of Ireland to build on this year and into the future. We have lobbied government for work permits and we are glad they have responded positively.”

Teagasc reports that 6,000 extra workers are needed in Irish dairying up to 2025.

- See www.frsfarmrelief.ie/careers for more on jobs in Ireland and visit www.frsfarmrelief.ie/nzexchange for more on the New Zealand and Ireland Exchange.